An Olive Oil Cooking Instructional Guide
There are many different kinds of Olive Oil. Cooking with them is the basis of many cultures around the globe. Learn which Olive Oil products will serve you best.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Premium Grade
The first pressing of the olive creates these two types of Olive Oil. Cooking with them at a high temp loses some flavor but doesn't change the basics of the oil. Use expensive olive oil when cooking with high heat. Also used well as last second touches to dishes and they make a great addition to tomato sauces, dressings and in marinade. Fine restaurants use it so you can dip crustier breads for a simple appetizer.
Fine, Semi-Fine and Virgin Olive Oil
Virgin Olive Oil cooking is a versatile thing. The olives are pressed beyond their usual means and chemicals are used to further extra oils. They're typically mixed with oils from other provinces to reintroduce the flavors lost from the process. Virgin Olive Oil, cooking in the same way as the extra virgin. It's also used as a condiment a lot of times due to its aroma and taste and is more reasonably priced than the extra virgin makes it more accessible for use and is great for high-heat cooking.
Olive Oil; Pure
Pure olive oil means that it's only olive oil. Nothing else is mixed with it. The process used to make it removes the flavor. Olive oil is added in the end to give it a bit of flavor and slight aroma. Use this for your majority of cooking as the heat removes the flavor and aroma anyway and it's more cost-effective. It's very suitable for high-temp cooking as the refining process increases its smoking point. Sauté deep fry, pan frying are all ways olive oil cooking can be done. Even at this high eat the health properties still remain.
Lite, Mild and Light Virgin or Extra Virgin
The olive oils are all perfect for your cooking needs giving the consumer high smoking points and flavors that mingle makes these oils incredibly versatile. They are best suited for high-heat cooking or as an alternative to butter (or other oil types when baking, like vegetable oil). You will require less olive oil when replacing butter (at 3 tablespoons per ¼ cup of butter). Mild or light oils are great for those who want a very light olive taste but maintaining the health benefits.
Flavored Gourmet Olive Oils, Cooking Simply
Flavored olive oil cooking can be a bit sketchy. When cooking with them keep in mind that flavored oils are produced, mainly, by using extra virgin olive oil and are best used as a condiment or late additions to a dish or any other means as extra virgin olive oil listed above.
Cooking Techniques; a Rundown
You've read about high-heat cooking among other things about olive oil cooking temperatures and what not. If you're new to cooking this stuff might seem a bit foreign to you.
Sautéing:
One of the highest of the high-heat cooking methods and one of the most suited for your light and mild olive oils. In French it translates to "jump" as the food literally jumps in the pan from the heat. It's a very fast method of cooking and is stir-frying without a work.
Pan-Frying:
A very common method and olive oil, cooking with this method, preserves the taste of the meat and vegetables. You use more oil than you do with sauté and cook at a lower temperature.
Deep-Frying:
Everyone is familiar with deep frying. Olive oil is not regularly used for this method. Vegetable, Soy and Peanut are the typically desired oils to use. Your standard pure olive oil is best for this if you choose to use it.
Stir-Frying:
The Oriental way of sauté is stir-frying and like sauté it uses a high temperature in which to cook your food. The pan varies however, having very high sides and dents in them that cling to the food. Again, pure olive is best used in the case. Oriental cooking likes to maintain the flavors of the meats and vegetables and too much of an olive oil taste would ruin, in their eyes, an otherwise great dish.
